I am in a B+W Filter quandry

[scott jones]

I want to buy three B+W 58mm filters for Black and White photography. I want a y ellow, orange, and red. The B+W catalog has me into a tailspin with too many cho ices and I seem to not be able to get off the dime on this.Why I have become so stuck, I do not know.

Choices are:

022 Medium Yellow (8) FF 2

023 Dark Yellow (?) FF 3

040 Yellow-Orange (16) FF 4

041 Red-Orange (22) FF 4

090 Light Red (25) FF 5

I thought I might order 023, 041, and 090.

Am I missing the boat here on the ones I have left out? Should I be making a dif ferent selection. I shoot landscape and architecture, 4x5 Tri-X.

I need to order these tomorrow, so thanks for any help you can give me on this c onfusing topic.

Scott

[james mickelson]

I would opt for a yellow, dark red, and a green. The dark green(wratten 58) will be just as useful as the yellow. It will lighten dark green foliage and darken blue sky also. The yellow and dark red will be all you need for other filtering. The use of an orange is not necassary if you have the other three. And get a polarizer. It is necassary. James

[David A. Goldfarb]

I use yellow (8) more often than any other filter for b&w, and occasionally red (25) and less frequently others like green (58).

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

These are good choices, but I would first get a polarizing filter. With the polarizing filter in combination with a yellow or green you can do a lot more.

[Andre Noble]

Scott, B+W filters are high quality AND expensive. Your 58mm filter size is rather small, and won't fit many large format lenses/ or telephoto lenses in the foll-film genre. You should seriously consider a larger size filter coupled with a step-up ring, or else you may find yourself buying the identical filters in the not to distant future again. Andre

[Michael Kadillak]

I have the B+W series in the 023,040 and 090 and find that they cover all of my requirements in B&W. I like them to acquire the set in 52mm, 67mm, 77mm and (ouch)95mm. I use a step up ring that S K Grimes made me to go from my 250mm Kodak Wide Field Ektar to 95mm because it was cheaper than the filters on the larger end of the scale. I have tried the greens and the red/orange and found that the marginal amount of adjustment versus the others I had was insignificant. I also found that the dark red was to much for my taste.

You will not go wrong with your initial instinctive decision. They are well made filters that should last a lifetime.

[Scott Walton]

I agree with the red(025) but the yellow/green (060) of B+W... Years ago there w as a really good write up in View Camera (I think) with a test on the differences of yellow, orange, red, green and yellow/green. I never really t hought the yellow was all that great and opted for the orange, red and then when I saw the write up on the yellow/green I got that one and tested i t myself. Great filter! B+W's are really good filters. You'll like them very much.

[Bob Salomon]

Just so you are aware Heliopan makeas these same filters and only supplies them in thin rings with front threads that won't vignette with lenses as wide as 21mm or it's equivelent.

They are the only filters made in Germany that only use Schott glass and the mounts are black anodized brass.

[Michael Klayman]

Sorry to disappoint you, Bob, but B+W uses Schott glass and brass mounts too.

[Bob Salomon]

"Sorry to disappoint you, Bob, but B+W uses Schott glass and brass mounts too. "

Not exclusively and not on the ALU series being sold in some markets.